Machine for affixing stamps.



E. H. HOTGHKISS & c. BEACH.

MAGHINE FOR AFIEIXING STAMPS..

APPLICATION FILED MAY 24, 1909.

Patented Oct. 12, 1909.

INVENTQRS WITNESSES:

ATTORNEY GRAHAM co, PNOTD-LIYWGMVMERS. wAsmNaroN, n. c

parsnip enrich.

ELI HUBBELL HOTOHKISS, or NonwaLK, oonnnorrcu'r, AND CHARLES BEACH, orGATSKILL, new YORK.

MACHINE FOR AFFIXING STAMPS.-

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Get. 12, 1999.

Application filed. May 24, 1969. Serial No. 497,873.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, (1) ELI Htinn'ntn Horonnrss and (2) CHARLES BEACH,citizens of the United States, residing at (1) Norwalk, county ofFairfield, State of Con-v necticut, and (2) Catskill, county of Greene,State of New York, respectively,.have invented an Improvement inMachines for Aflixing Stamps, of which the following is a specification.

This invention has for its object to provide a simple and inexpensivehand operated machine for feeding stamps into position to be affixed toa moistened envelop or card; the machine being provided with means formoist-ening the card or envelop, with means for feeding the stampssingly into position to be aiiixed and with means for retaining thestamp in place while pres sure is applied to the moistened envelop orcard, thereby avoiding the necessity for moistening either the stamp orthe article to which it is applied with the mouth and the machinerequiring but little room on a desk and being so inexpensive to produceas to place it within the reach of all.

With these and other objects in view the invention consists in certainconstructions and in certain parts, improvements and combinations whichwill be hereinafter described and then specifically pointed out intheclaims hereunto appended.

In the accompanying drawing forming a part of this specification, Figure1 is a plan view of our novel machine complete; and Fig. 2 isa-longitudinal section on the line 22 in Fig. 1, looking in thedirection of the arrows.

10 denotes the frame of our novel machine which may be made of metal,wood, hard rubber, vulcanized fiber or any suitable material.

11 denotes a shaft mounted torotate in suitable bearings on the frameand carrying a drum 12. 13 denotes another drum having trunnions 14;which have their bearings in slots 15 in the frame and 16 denotes aroller journaled on the frame and located intermediate drums 12 and 13.

17 denotes a strip of paper or textile material as preferred and whichmay or may not be coated with paraffin. This strip passes over roller 16and the ends thereof are detachably connected to the drums in anysuitable manner as by being inserted I in slots 18 in the drums. Thestrip may be of any suitable length and is wound upon the drums, as willbe more fully explained.

19 denotes another shaft which is suitably journaled on the frame andcarries a roller 20 which is provided with longitudinal slots 21 in itsperiphery and with a central circumferential groove indicated by 22.Shafts 11 and 19 are provided with roller 20 which is provided withlongitudinal slots 21 in its periphery and with a sprocket or beltpulleys 2 1, sprocket pulleys being shown inthe present instance whichare connected by a sprocket chain 25.

26 denotes a deflector upon which the winding of the strip on drum 13rests, said deflector lying between said drum and slotted roller 20, and27 denotes a guide plate over the slotted roller but with a clear spacebetween the guide plate and the roller. The guide plate and deflectorare shown as formed integral from a piece of sheet metal which isprovided with flanges 28 by means of which the parts are rigidly securedto the frame.

29 denotes the stamp bed or table which in the present instance is aplate of metal secured to an upwardly projecting portion 30 of theframe.

31 denotes a tongue of metal which extends upward from the stamp bed andlies in groove 22 in slotted roller 20.

32 denotes a guard which is pivoted to projection 30 as at 33 and partlyincloses the stamp bed. A spring 34 acts to hold the guard at the raisedposition.

35 denotes a suitable moistening device which is placed on the left sideof the stamp bed. This moistening device may be of any ordinary orpreferred construction. In the present instance we have shown a cup 36whlch may be made of metal or any suitable material and attached to theframe for carrying a sponge indicated by 37 or any suitable pad thatwill absorb moisture.

The operation is as follows: To load the machinewhere a permanent stripis used, the strip is first wound on drum 12 with the exception of asingle ply which is left upon drum 13. The stamps are separated fromeach other. Drum 13 is then removed from its bearings, the strip unwoundtherefrom and then the drum is rotated by hand to wind the stripthereon, stamps, indicated by 38, being placed singly between the windings, the adhesive side of the stamps being placed inward. Any number ofstamps may be placed in the windings of the strip depending of courseupon the length of the strip. When the strip has been nearly all woundupon drum 13 or when the predetermined number of stamps have been woundtherein, the drum is replaced in its bearings and the machine is readyfor use. In practice drums 13 with strips wound thereon, and inclosingin the windings a predetermined number of stamps, may be furnishedindependently of the machine. The strips may be made of paper or ofinexpensive textile material and may or may not be coated with paraffinas preferred. The drums and trnnnions may be turned from wood; in fact,the drums and strips may be produced so cheaply that the completed drumsor rolls of stamps may be sold for but a trifle more than the cost ofthe stamps. \Vhen the machine is used with the prepared rolls or drumsof stamps, the strips and drums are thrown away when the stamps are allused. lVhen a new drum is placed in the bearings, the end of the stripis carried about roller 16 and under and over drum 12 to which it isattached in any suitable manner as by inserting the end of the stripinto slot 18 and then winding the strip closely upon the drum, severaladditional windings of the strip being provided on the prepared rollsfor convenience in attachment to the other drum. 7

In use, drum 12 is turned toward the front, 2'. 6. toward the right asseen in the drawing, by means of the hand wheel. This draws the stripfrom drum 13 over roller 16 and winds it upon drum 12, and the sprocketchain or belt communicates motion to grooved roller 20. The stamps, asalready explained, are inclosed in the windings of the strip on drum 13with the adhesive side inward. As the strip passes over roller 16 whilebeing drawn from drum 13 by drum 12, the stamps will drop from thewinding and the edge of each stamp will drop into one of the slots 21 ofroller 20. Deflector 26 acts to deflect the edge of the stamp downwardas it passes from the strip and prevents the stamp from turning over ordoubling up. The forward movement of roller 20 carries the stamp underguide plate 27 which retains it in position as it is carried forward byroller 20 until it passes out from under the guide plate and drops downover tongue 31 upon stamp bed or table 29, still with the adhesive sideupward. The corners of the envelops or cards to which stamps are to beaffixed are moistened, the address side being held downward, and thenthe moistened portion of the envelop or card guard and pressed downward,the guard yielding and the moistened portion of the envelop or cardcoming in contact with the adhesive side of the stamp which lies uponthe stamp bed and is retained thereon by the guard. Should two or morestamps be required upon an envelop, a sutlicient por tion of the addressside is moistened by being passed over the moistening device aml therequired number of stamps are successively delivered into the pocketfrom drmn l3 and atlixed in place in the manner described.

Having thus described our invention we claim 1. A machine for aflixingstamps comprising a rotatable drum, a strip wound thereon and adapted tocarry separated stamps. a grooved roller by which stamps delivered fromthe strip are carried forward, a guide plate over said roller, :1 stampbed upon which the stamps drop with the adhesive side upward, aspring-controlled guard about the bed and a moistening device. theenvelops to be stamped being first moistened and then placed over thestamp bed and guard and pressed downward, the guard yielding andpermitting the moistened sur face to engage the adhesive side of thestamp.

2. A machine for affixing stamps comprisiug a drum, a strip woundthereon and adapted to carry separated stamps, a grooved roller by whichstamps delivered from the drum are carried forward, a deflector, a guideplate over the grooved roller, a stamp bed, a spring-controlled guardabout the bed and a moistening device.

3. A machine for aflixing stamps comprising a drum, a strip woundthereon and adapted to carry separated stamps, a roller provided withlongitudinal grooves, for the purpose set forth, and a circumferentialgroove, a guide plate over said roller, :1 stamp bed, and a tongueextending from the bed and lying in the circumferential groove of theroller.

4. A machine for atlixing stamps eomprising a frame having slots, aremovable drum having trunnions lying in said slots, a strip wound onsaid drum and adapted to carry separated stamps, a roller havinglongitudinal grooves, for the purpose set forth, a deflector over saidroller upon which the winding on the drum rests, a stamp bed and aspring-controlled guard about the bed.

A machine for affixing stamps comprising a frame having slots, a drumhaving trunnions engaging said slots, :1 second drum journaled on theframe, astrip adapted to be wound from one drum to the other, a, rollerintermediate said drums over which the strip passes, a grooved rollercontiguous to said roller, a deflector and a guide plate,

I for the purpose set forth, a stamp bed. a is placed over the stamppocket and the spring-controlled guard about the bed and a moist-eningdevice.

6. A machine for aflixmg stamps comprising a frame, shafts j ournaledthereon, a drum carried by one of said shafts, a grooved roller carriedby the other shaft, a driving connection between the shafts, a removabledrum, a strip adapted to be wound from one drum to the other a rollercontiguous to the grooved roller over which the strip passes, adeflector and a guard plate, for the purpose set forth, a stamp bed anda spring-controlled guard about the bed.

7. The combination with a detachable drum, a strip wound thereon and adrum upon which the strip is wound from the detachable drum, of agrooved roller, driving connections between said roller and the seconddrum, a deflector and a guard plate contiguous to the grooved roller, astamp bed and a yielding guard about the bed.

8. The combination with a detachable drum, a strip wound thereon, a drumupon which the strip is wound from the detachable drum and anintermediate roller over which the strip passes, of a grooved rollercontiguous to the intermediate roller, driving connections between thesecond drum and the grooved roller, a stamp bed, a pivoted guardtherefor and a moistening device.

9. The combination with a detachable drum, a strip wound thereon and adrum upon which the strip is wound from the detachable drum, of a rollerhaving longitudinal grooves and a central circumferential groove,driving connections between said roller and the second drum, a stampbed, a tongue extending therefrom and engaging the circumferentialgroove and a deflector and guard plate.

In testimony whereof we afiix our signatures in presence of twowitnesses.

E. HUBBELL HOTCHKISS. CHARLES BEACH.

Witnesses for E1 Hubbell Hotchkiss:

A. M. Woos'rER, S. W. ATHERTON. Witnesses for Charles Beach:

A. K. BROKAW, J. D. MALEY.

